Hamzatul wasl is the connecting hamzah: a hamzah that is pronounced only when you begin reading with it and is passed over silently whenever you arrive at it from the word before. It stands opposite hamzat al-qat' (the cutting hamzah), which is pronounced wherever it falls. Almost every reader meets the connecting hamzah in the first line of the Quran, because the alif of Allah in bismillah is one. This guide follows Hafs 'an 'Asim; other qira'at (transmitted readings) handle a few of the starting and joining cases differently.
Wasl and qat': what the two hamzahs are
Arabic does not begin a word with a letter that has no vowel. When a word's underlying form starts with a sakin letter (one carrying sukoon, no vowel), the language supplies a hamzah at the front so that there is something to begin on. That extra hamzah is hamzat al-wasl (from wasl, joining). It is scaffolding: needed when you start, unnecessary when the previous word already gives your voice a running start, so in continuous reading it disappears.
Hamzat al-qat' is different. It is a real letter of the word, part of its root or its grammar, and it is pronounced whether you start on it or reach it mid-flow. Aamana (he believed), anta (you), ilaa (to) and umm (mother) all begin with hamzat al-qat'. Cut that hamzah out and the word loses a letter; cut a hamzat al-wasl out and the word loses nothing.
A quick test: put wa (and) in front of the word. If the hamzah still sounds, it is qat'. If it vanishes, it is wasl. Wa-anta keeps its hamzah; wal-hamdu (and the praise) does not.
How the mushaf marks it
In most printed editions, hamzat al-wasl is written as a plain alif with a small sign shaped like the head of the letter ص above it. The sign stands for silah (connection), and it tells you that this alif is not pronounced when you join from the previous word. Hamzat al-qat' is written with the small hamzah sign (ء) above or below its alif, and it carries a vowel mark of its own.
That contrast matters. A connecting hamzah usually has no vowel mark printed on it at all, because the vowel you give it depends on how you start, as explained below. If you see a hamzah sign and a vowel, pronounce it always. If you see the small ص and no vowel, pronounce it only when you begin there. Our guide to sukoon and shaddah is a useful companion, since hamzat al-wasl exists to serve a sakin letter.
Which vowel to start with
When you do begin on a connecting hamzah, whether at the start of an ayah or after a stop, it needs a vowel, and that vowel is not printed. Three cases cover the Quran. If the names of the vowels are new to you, our article on the Arabic short vowels will help.
The definite article. Whenever the connecting hamzah is the "al" that means "the", start with fathah (the short "a" vowel): al-hamdu, al-kitaab, an-naas. The name Allah and the word alladheena (those who) also start with fathah. Whether the laam of the article is then pronounced or merged depends on the letter after it, which is the subject of our article on sun and moon letters.
A small group of nouns. Seven nouns begin with a connecting hamzah and take kasrah (the short "i" vowel) when you start on them: ibn (son), ibnah (daughter), imru' (man), imra'ah (woman), ithnaan (two), ithnataan (two, feminine) and ism (name). Verbal nouns of the longer verb patterns, such as istighfaar (seeking forgiveness), also begin with kasrah.
Verbs. For a verb, look at its third letter, counting the connecting hamzah as the first. If the third letter carries an original dammah (the short "u" vowel), start with dammah: udkhuloo (enter), unzur (look), utlu (recite). If the third letter carries fathah or kasrah, start with kasrah: ihdinaa (guide us, Surah Al-Fatihah 1:6), iqra' (read, Surah Al-'Alaq 96:1), idhhab (go).
One case is treated separately. In a few verbs the dammah on the third letter is temporary, produced only because a plural waw follows, as in imshoo (walk, Surah Sad 38:6) and ibnoo (build, Surah As-Saffat 37:97), where the underlying form is imshi. Teachers start these with kasrah, following the original vowel rather than the printed one.
Hamzat al-wasl is a door you open only from outside: come to it from the previous word and you walk straight through.
When the previous word ends in a sakin letter
When the connecting hamzah drops out, the previous word runs straight into a sakin letter; if that word itself ends in a sakin letter, two vowel-less letters would meet, which Arabic avoids. The rule is to give the final letter of the previous word a temporary vowel.
- Most sakin letters take kasrah. In Surah Al-Isra (17:110) the phrase qul id'oo Allah is read as one flow, quli-d'ullaah, with the laam of qul given a kasrah.
- The meem of the plural pronouns (kum, hum) takes dammah, as in 'alaykumu-l-qitaal in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:216).
- The word min (from) takes fathah: minal-jinnati wan-naas at the end of Surah An-Nas (114:6).
- Tanween (the doubled vowel mark that hides a noon) behaves like a sakin noon and takes kasrah, so the reading runs across the join on a short "i" sound.
These vowels exist only for joining. If you stop on the previous word instead, its final letter is sakin as normal and the connecting hamzah, when you restart, takes its own starting vowel. Our guide to stopping and starting in the Quran covers the choice of where to pause.
One more case belongs to advanced study: when a connecting hamzah is followed by a sakin hamzat al-qat', as in i'toonee (bring me, Surah Yusuf 12:50), starting on the word turns the second hamzah into a long vowel, eetoonee. Learn it from a teacher.
Mistakes readers make with it
- Pronouncing it mid-flow. The reader says bismi allah with a separate hamzah rather than bismillah. The fix is to practise joining pairs of words slowly.
- Starting on the wrong vowel. Adkhuloo for udkhuloo, or abn for ibn.
- Confusing it with qat'. Dropping a real hamzah because it looks like a connecting one, so that aamana loses its first letter after wa. Check the mark: the hamzah sign always sounds.
- Forgetting the joining vowel. Reading qul id'oo with a gap, or with the wrong vowel on the laam.
Our article on reading the Quran fluently shows how joining practice fits into a wider routine.
Frequently asked questions
Is the hamzah at the start of Allah a connecting hamzah?
Yes. That is why bismillah is one unbroken word in recitation and why Allah begins with fathah when you start on it. Whenever the name follows another word in the same breath, the alif is silent and the previous word joins straight onto the laam.
How do I know the third letter's dammah is original?
Check whether the verb keeps that dammah in its singular command form. Udkhul keeps it, so udkhuloo starts with dammah. Imshi has kasrah, so imshoo starts with kasrah even though a dammah is printed on the sheen. A teacher can give you the short list of such words.
Why does the connecting hamzah have no vowel printed?
Because its vowel is decided by the reader at the moment of starting, not by the word. The small ص sign is the publisher's way of saying: silent when joined, vowel according to the rule when begun. Some editions do print a starting vowel as a help, and those are worth following.
Does hamzat al-wasl affect the length of a madd before it?
It can. A long vowel at the end of the previous word runs into the sakin letter after the dropped hamzah, and that meeting produces one of the lengthening cases teachers cover under madd. The details belong to the madd rules rather than to this article.
Can I stop on a word and restart on a connecting hamzah?
Yes, and this is the normal way the rules above come into play. Once you restart, treat the hamzah exactly as if it opened the ayah: fathah for the article, kasrah for the seven nouns, and the third-letter rule for verbs.
Practise the joins with a teacher listening
Most readers can recite the starting rules long before their tongue applies them at speed, and the gap closes quickest with someone hearing every join. On our Nazra Quran reading course the teacher reads with you line by line and stops at each connecting hamzah until it is automatic. You can meet a teacher first in a free first class, with no card details asked for, and bring the ayat that trip you up.
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